Unchained Melody
by White is the Snow
Summary: Words have great power, but so does silence. When Izuku stopped speaking he found that people relay too much on what others say rather than their actions. He has experienced the world as an observer for most of his life, but now there is a call for action. He can only hope that silent support is enough to save the day... because Izuku's words have a steep price.
1. Chapter 1

Firstly, I do not own Boku no Hero Academia and I have no plans to make money off of this story. Also, I have taken some artistic liberties with the timeline, characters, and settings from BnHA that may or may not tick you off. Just fair warning.

Secondly, this is an experiment on my part. I have written for myself for quite some time, but I've never shared anything before. Feed back is very welcome.

Thirdly, this has not been looked over by anyone aside from myself and I expect there are sever errors throughout it. If you feel the need to point them out, I will try to correct them.

And finally, I have a hectic schedule. Writing is a passion and I love it, but it does not always get to come first in my life. This translates roughly to: updates will be irragular. I might add that my muses are flighty little things and often take long sabaticals to, I suspect, the Bermuda Triangle. Some of them never return...

So, I hope you enjoy and I'm happy to present...

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Chapter 1: The Origins of an Unconventional Hero

When Izuku was younger, he had the aspiration of becoming a hero just like All Might. He would arrive to the scene of chaos and danger just in the nick of time with a bright smile and a confident pose. He would thwart the bad guys and save the innocent and never, ever ask for anything in return. Then, one day, he would get the meet All Might himself and thank the man for being his personal hero.

Fate, kind and cruel in equal measure, had a different plan. Izuku had been blessed with a beautiful mind that placed him firmly in the category of genius, but he was also a humble boy. He could remember things from very early in his life and he had quickly learned how to read people and situations. This skill was often used to deal with his volatile best friend Kacchan and to analyze the hero and villain fights he watched regularly. Mrs. Midoriya knew that her baby was very smart, but having only one child and his sole friend (who also happened to be very intellegent) as reference, she did not understand just how advanced Izuku was for his age. So, when the day came that Izuku developed his long anticipated Quirk, Inko had no clue that her son would not only notice, but understand her reaction to the situation it had caused.

She hadn't meant to show him her fear upon seeing what he could do. Heck, most of that fear had nothing to do with the actual Quirk and none of it was because of her son. Still, she had reacted and Izuku had seen it and felt responsible. Inko, shocked and scared, had failed to see her son's bright smile falter and his eyes harden with calculations. When her small son, the light of her life, came into the kitchen trailed by one of the most dangerous and sought after villain's on the news she had first feared for his life. Then, with his sweet smile, Izuku had shifted the fear into terror. "Mama! I made a new friend!" He cheered as she lost her ability to breath.

"When I was singing about my adventure, Mr. Grimace," he pointed to the man behind him (the dangerous, bad man), "who was on T.V. fighting Endeavor yesterday," Izuku bounced on the balls of his feet in excitement at the thought of the Hero fight he had watched on Herotube just as soon as it was released, "well, he walked over and asked to be my friend!" Inko felt her legs go weak as she grabbed the counter for support.

"I told him that, as a hero, it was my duty to be kind and that I would be his friend!" Izuku grinned at the Villain who, Inko finally gathered the courage to look at his face, smiled back in a way that sent chills of disgust and horror down her spine for a completely different reason than before. No adult should ever smile that way at a child! It was... wrong... so very, very wrong. "But," Izuku's voice turned into a 4 year old caricature of sternness, "he has to go to the police and take re... res..." Izuku paused for a second, "Mama, what's the word that means you tell the truth about what you did and then you face the bad stuff that happened because of it?"

Inko, still trying to figure out how to get her son away (far, far, please God get him far away) from the... monster behind him, blindly answered her baby. "R- responsibility..."

"Yes! He has to take re-spawns-ability for what he did and for being bad, because hero's can't be friends with bad guys! and guess what he said!" Izuku's smile grew painfully larger, still caught up in his excitement. "What did you say, Mr. Grimace? Tell her!" He looked at the man, who looked at him in a way that made Inko choke on what might have been a sob. That was when Izuku really looked at his mother for the first time after coming inside.

"Anything," the villain known as Grimace cooed at the four year old in front of him, "I would do anything for you, little angel..." as he spoke, eyes never leaving Izuku's small form, Inko watched the man with still rising horror and Izuku watched his mother. Smart as he may be, Izuku was still a child, so he didn't understand what his mother was so scared of. Sure, Mr. Grimace was a villain, but he had agreed to be good so he could be Izuku's friend. Didn't his mama understand that the villain was trying to be better and, as a hero, Izuku was obligated to help him? He had planned to ask his mama to drive he and Mr. Grimace to the police so that everything could be fixed right, but if she was that uncomfortable around the villain then Izuku couldn't ask her to.

"Mr. Grimace?" Izuku made sure to sound kind and a bit sorry. The man sighed as he gazed into Izuku's eyes.

"Yes, sweet one?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't think Mama is feeling well..." the boy looked at his still terrified mother, "will you be okay... walking yourself to the police?" the man shuddered, his smile going... weird and his eyes becoming hooded.

"Yes, of course, anything..." Izuku smiled brightly at the man, who shuddered again, and grabbed his hand. The man dropped to his knees with a sharp gasp and a guttural moan. Izuku feared he had hurt the man until he saw how happy and relaxed Mr. Grimaces face was.

"Thank you, you should go quickly and tell them I sent you so they know that I can visit you!" The man, on shaky legs with an odd wet patch growing at the front of his dark pants, stood and staggered out the door in the direction of the closest police station. As soon as Grimace turned around, Inko had gathered Izuku in her arms and began sobbing. Her baby, her sweet child, had just been touched by an adult in a way that gave said adult the type of pleasure no adult should ever get from a child. Izuku didn't understand, she knew that, but one day he would and he would remember this and it would scar him.

She grabbed her purse and her keys and began punching the number for Izuku's personal doctor into her cellphone as she swept out the front door with her child securely in her arms. Maybe Grimace was just a very sick man, but maybe there was something... more to the situation. Either way, she had no idea what had happened before her baby had come inside with that... man. It was safer to get a check up than to assume nothing had happened...

Izuku, buckled safely in his car seat, listened and watched as his mother set up an emergency appointment with his doctor. He had never seen her so scared in his life, even when she had seen the news report about the building Da worked in being blown up by villains and was worried he might have been hurt. When he heard her say something about Quirks he started to really think about what had happened. Maybe... maybe his Quirk had come in! And maybe it made bad guys want to be good! That would be such a great Hero quirk! But why was Mama so scared...?

He kept thinking about all the possibilities until his Mama stopped the car and got them both out. The lady who was at the front desk, a different one than Izuku was used to seeing there, asked for Mama's name and jumped up to open the door for them as soon as his Mama answered. "Dr. Yoshitome is expecting you, please come this way." Mama followed the lady quickly and soon they were in the room that Izuku always got his check-ups in with the same doctor he always saw. He smiled at the familiar man with his usual excitement and good cheer. The doctor's responding smile was smaller than usual and didn't quite reach his eyes. Now Izuku was beginning to worry. What had he done wrong?

"Hello Mrs. Midoriya and Izuku, I'm going to start with a physical exam like we always do and then we can do a quick Quirk assessment. I will have to draw a little blood like we did two exams ago, do you remember Izuku?" The man flashed that same tight smile again. Izuku nodded and held out his arm for the man. It stung a bit, getting his blood drawn, but it was only for a second. Then came the exam that had been standard every few months for as long as Izuku could recall. "Now, I'm going to have you do a few things while your blood is being processed so we can figure out if you've activated you quirk and what it is if you did! So, can you..." the doctor asked him to do several things. He had to grip a weird handle that sent information to the computer and jump up and down as high as he could and answer math problems. The doctor was very impressed with all the math problems he could solve and made a very large note about it... but then he asked Izuku to sing like he had when Mr. Grimace had asked to be his friend. Izuku couldn't remember the song he had made up, so he sang Twinkle Little Star instead.

He closed his eyes so he could focus on getting the tune right, like his music teacher suggested, and once he had finished he opened them. What he saw confused him. Both his Mama and the doctor and even the nurse who was returning with his blood results looked at him with slack jaws and wide eyes. "My... what a beautiful song..." his Mama said at last. The Doctor nodded in agreement and the nurse stepped closer to him. Izuku was confused. He had sang many times before and, though his music teacher said his voice was very good and that he was the best in the class, he had never gotten a reaction like this...

"Can..." he paused as all of the adults began leaning in with oddly twinkling eyes as if whatever he had to say must be the most interesting thing in the world, "can I know what my blood told you?" The nurse, who had a quirk that allowed her to change her hair color apparently because it was now the same shade as Izuku's instead of the light brown it had been, scrambled to hand the paper over to him. That... was unusual. The nurses always handed papers to the doctor, not the patient... "th-thank you." The nurse shuddered, her cheeks turning bright pink and her eyes going a little glossy as she braced herself against the counter nearest the door. Izuku did not fail to see the way her behavior was similar to Mr. Grimace's. Was she bad too?

He decided to read the paper, because maybe it could tell him...

Patient: 007135

Name: Midoriya, Izuku

Age: 4 yrs

Yes, this was his. He scanned passed the sections that listed his parents names and his medical history and got to the new stuff pretty guickly. There were some parts that, even as abnormally inelegant as he was, Izuku couldn't quite undertand so he asked the doctor to read it and help him. The doctor smiled very joyously and read over the paper out loud.

"BT results: Quirk Positive

Status: Activated

Type: combo- physical/mental

Catagory: 3+

Potential: unclear

Ability Summary: the Quirk seems to be activated by intent and voice. It effects the mind of the target or targets causing them to develop positive feelings towards the user. When exposed for more that a few moments, the target may grow increasingly attached to the user. The Quirk releases dopamine and other positive chemicals into the target's brain and can become addictive if the user is not careful. Obsession developing is highly possible especially on already obsessive personalities or addictive personalities. Essentially, the target could eventually become so dependant on the user that they would do literally anything for them. The limits of this Quirk are unknown. The draw back is that user must feed off of strong emotions in order to replenish their strength after extensive use.

The physical part of this quirk effects the user's appearance mostly. The user will slowly grow more attractive as the Quirk develops. The users sent will also become something that draws people in. Agility, strength, flexibility and speed will all increase to above average with time and even more so with effort. Body will be resistant to heat and cold due to was seems to be a steadily increasing core temperature.

It is possible that this is a dual quirk as the physical enhancements seem to want to develop separate from the mental."

There was silence for a moment as Izuku and the adults absorbed the information the doctor had read. Izuku looked up at his Mama and saw a flash of emotion in her eyes that was quickly swallowed up but the same haze that had clouded Mr. Grimace's eyes. Somehow, Izuku knew his Mama was scared, but his Quirk had made it so she couldn't feel that way even though she wanted to. Izuku thought about what that meant as the doctor spoke again.

"Well, it seems that sweet Izuku has developed an extreme mutation of your Quirk Mrs. Midoriya that is activated similarly to your husband's..." the haze over the doctor's eyes faded for a moment as he studied the paper, but it came back as soon as he looked at Izuku. "The secondary enhancing Quirk seems to be in response to the raw power of the Primary Quirk. It's a way to ensure your body can handle the pressure of such a strong Quirk. And to think, there was no detectable limiter on the potential growth of either Quirk!" The doctor chuckled as if it were the best thing in the world. Izuku wasn't so sure...

Izuku looked at the three adults in the room for a moment. They all met his eyes with the same hazy, eager look as Mr. Grimace had. In that moment, Izuku knew that he could never be a hero. He could never use his quirk again, because it was too strong. So strong that he now held the fragile minds of his Mama, his doctor and the nurse in the palm of his hand. If he said one thing wrong he could crush them even if he didn't mean to... so, Izuku made a decision. He balled his tiny hands into tiny fists and fought against the tears threatening to fall from his resigned eyes. He used his quirk intentionally for the first time.

"I," he nearly sobbed as the tree adults' eyes lost even more focus as he spoke, "need you to change what this report says..." he tried to focus his intentions on only the nurse as he spoke.

"anything..." the nurse whispers reverently. So, if he focused on one person they were the only one obligated to follow the order. That was important to know...

"G-good, umm, make it say... that I'm... Quirkless. That I have the extra toe joint... so it is impossible for me to have a quirk... now please." The nurse wiggled her hips and pressed her thighs together as she bit her lip around a strange groan.

"Y-esss~" she sighed out and left the room on unsteady legs.

"D-doctor..." the Doctor leaned forward and started to reach out like he wanted to touch Izuku, but retracted his hand and used it to cover his mouth as if he were too shy, "I want you to remember only what I'm going to tell you... you too Mama." He felt his Mama shiver as she hugged him closer on her lap and rested her face against his soft curls. "We... we came in today because I fell down and..." Izuku had an idea in this moment that would solve most of his problems and later become the cause of them, "hit my head really hard. You decided to do a full check-up and a blood test because, as a four year old, I should be getting my quirk soon... but I won't... e-ever. Because I have an extra toe joint... I can't have a quirk. and... when I hit my head... it made me... l-loose m-my voice..." the two adults had vacant looks in their eyes. The nurse returned, her eyes hooded and filled with some emotion that Izuku didn't understand.

"I did what you asked, pretty, can I have a treat?" Her voice was low and breathy and it freaked Izuku out. The tears fell without his consent.

"Y-you have to f-forget what happened. I... I was only hear because I hit my head really hard. I a-am Quirkless a-and I lost m-my v-voice." He sobbed as he spoke and his words took hold of the three adults. The next thing he knew, his mom was sobbing too and the doctor was looking at him with so much pity it made him nauseous. The nurse, who had been besotted only moments before, shot Izuku a sad look and the doctor a knowing glance and left the room.

"I... I am so sorry, Mrs. Midoriya, little Izuku... I wish there was something that could be done..." Izuku felt so shameful as his mother's silent sobbing rocked his small body, but at least she could think and feel for herself... at least he hadn't hurt her like that.

"L-let's go h-home Izu, I s-still have to make d-dinner. Thank Y-you Doctor..." the drive home was a blur, dinner tasted like sand in his mouth and Izuku went to bed early that night, but he never did get to sleep. Instead, he went over every dream he had ever envisioned for his future and imagined them fading to dust... because Izuku had intentionally used his Quirk to take away the will of other people and only villains took things from people. Izuku didn't want to be a bad guy, so he would never use his bad guy Quirk again and he would find a way to do good without it!

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Thank you for reading~

WitS


	2. Chapter 2

Hello and welcome!

I do not own BnHA and I do not intend to profit from this story.

Allora, I would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who favorited and/or followed my story! What a wonderful feeling it is when someone takes an interest in your passions!

I would like to extent an even larger thank you to those who took the time to leave a review!

There was a subtle inquiry about romance that I would like to address.

I was not planning to focus on Izuku's (or anyone else's) love life too awful much. Despite his Quirk being attraction based, Izuku is only 14 and has a great many things to worry about without adding romance to his plate. That being said, as Izuku's character develops in the story there will be moments between him and other characters that could potentially sow the seeds of future love. I am not adverse to suggestions and input on this topic.

Another reviewer left some criticism that I would have loved to examine, but it was dreadfully lacking in detail. I also could not ask about it because the reviewer was a guest. Please, please, please don't hide your identity or hold back when statting your opinions! Even rude comments are opportunities to see things from another perspective.

Once again I will point out that though I love to write it is not my full time job. I will not always update so quickly and some chapters may be very short while others are quite long. This story remains without a Beta to correct my errors.

I write for myself first and foremost, but I am happy if this story is something you enjoy.

Without further delay, I present to you...

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Chapter 2: What One Accepts, Does One Deserve?

A slight boy, with hair a hue somewhere between emerald and obsidian and a thorough peppering of freckles across his soft cheeks, wiped the blood from his quickly bruising face. Kacchan was angry again: this time because Izuku had been looking out the window while the platinum blond shouted about how superior he was. Sometimes, Izuku wondered if he did things to piss his first, and last, friend off on purpose. After all, the greenette knew full well which buttons would trigger Kacchan and how best to push them. It had been easy when they were little and only got easier as they grew. Bakugou Katsuki craved, despite all his posturing and apparent confidence, the attention and approval of others. In particular, Izuku's attention seemed to keep his ego well fed and satisfied.

It was strange no matter how you looked at it. The same boy Katsuki belittled and beat up almost daily was also the boy he always made sure was looking before he did something 'cool'. Sometimes, like today, Izuku made sure he wasn't looking at Kacchan. If he didn't look when Kacchan did 'cool' things, the blond would make sure to grab his focus in… other, more violent ways. Recently, Katsuki had even started using low level explosions from his Quirk to punish Izuku when his anger was pushed far enough. Katsuki claimed his anger came from having to look at someone as pathetic as the 'Quirkless Deku', but Izuku could see the patterns behind Kacchan's actions. The greenette had always been good at analysis after all and Katsuki couldn't be subtle about… anything, really.

So Izuku had irritated the blond, more or less on purpose, and had received a pretty good beat down for it. The only one who hit him was Kacchan, only ever Kacchan, but his ex friend had just learned that he could level up his punches by igniting small explosions behind his elbows as opposed to just setting off an explosion from his fist upon impact. It was really quite interesting and Izuku would be sure to include it the next time he sat down to do some Quirk analysis. He had no doubt that Katsuki would be a hero worth keeping tabs on in the future if he ever managed to deflate his ego a bit. Well, that and if he stopped being such a bully. Then again, with Endeavour on the streets and ranking number 2, Katsuki might be a high ranking hero long before he became a well balanced person…

It was a concerning thought, but Izuku knew Kacchan had great potential for growth, so he remained hopeful. He knew the UA entrance exams that were scheduled for the last week of vacation would find Kacchan at the top of the score boards. It was almost inevitable. From what little information he found circulating about the prestigious and prodigious entrance exams held by the top school in the country, Izuku was able to find a general pattern from year to year. The written exam was a mix of moderately to extremely difficult questions that placed testers into four scoring catagories: below average, average, advanced and genius. The idea is to get a good read on each student's capabilities and eventually build an individual educational program that best suits them. No other high school had the resources to cater so well to the singular student rather than the group.

The second half of the exams varied depending on the department you planned to enter. For Hero Course, which Kacchan was aiming to dominate, it seemed to be a large scale mock battle that awarded two types of points: villain points for defeating enemies and rescue points for saving others. Katsuki would be able to complete the exam with a high score based solely off of his ability to destroy things and his written would result in a score that put him firmly in the Advanced if not Genius bracket. UA wouldn't know what hit them when one of the top scorers overall walked into the room cursing and spitting like a delinquent.

The General Studies course practical was a lot like an aptitude test, but more advanced. It took into account each potential student's Quirk, school performance history, extra curricular activities and written exam score as well as their listed interests to map out the most successful career paths they could pursue. This was actually done on a less intense scale for all examinees. If the exam proctors see potential in a student who fails the support or hero exams they usually extended an offer to put them in general studies. The chances aren't likely, but the opportunity is too good to pass up if presented. General studies students have the chance to change their course once a year at the Sports Festival or if they can earn a recommendation from a teacher.

The Support course exam was similar, but more focused depending on which type of support you wanted to go into. This was the exam Izuku planned to take. He would be submitting a small portfolio of his Hero Quirk Analysis notes one week before the exam as is required for Analysis examinees. He would then have to watch the Hero Course exams and turn in as thorough an analysis as possible on at least one of the Hero examinees. After that they would score his work and he would be called in for an interview that would end with the standard 'we don't think this is the right fit…' or 'we are happy to say, you passed!'. He knew that this was the general flow for each section of support, but he hadn't really looked into the others.

Of course, when he wrote that his first choice for high school was UA the teacher just had to stir up trouble and announce it to the class right after Katsuki's 'don't lump me in with these extras! I'm going to number one!' tirade. There would have been a beating no matter what, seeing as Izuku had ignored Katsuki, but it was much worse with the new thought that Izuku might be trying to be a Hero and thus claiming that he was good enough to compete with Kacchan. The teacher had left out the detail about Izuku's intended course… probably on purpose knowing that Izuku would be ridiculed. That's why Izuku actually had blood to deal with instead of general bruising and pain. Honestly, Izuku was grateful to Katsuki in a way. The greenette would have never discovered that his physical enhancing Quirk could be strengthened and weakened at will if it weren't for the blond.

When Izuku had decided to aim for a career as an analyst he had stopped carrying his official note books around all the time in order to keep them safe. He knew Kacchan would ruin them constantly if he kept them with him. Those note books were the only thing that ever got a real rise out of Izuku and Katsuki was smart enough to realize that, so Izuku took the weakness out of the equation and simply jotted down thoughts on scrap paper to expand upon later. It was the last time he brought a notebook with him that he discovered the new feature of his secondary quirk.

Kachan had been growing frustrated because Izuku hardly ever responded to what should have been painful physical attacks and he wanted the Deku to react! So, he opted to target the boys emotions and destroy his notebook. Izuku read his intentions and prayed for a way to distract the blond. He remembered thinking 'it's fine even if I get hurt!'. When he used his arm to block the explosion that was aimed at his notebook he couldn't help the silent cringe of pain. Suddenly, Katsuki's focus returned to Izuku and the notebook was safe. From then on the notebooks stayed home and Izuku's natural defenses stayed down around the volatile blond.

Katsuki took the absence of his notes as a sign of surrender to the fate of being useless. If only the explosive child was emotionally intelligent enough to see that Izuku had long ago given up on being a Hero…

Right now, Izuku pushed the soft ache in his face to the back of his mind as he focused on getting home. His Mama, the most wonderful person on the face of the earth, had promised to make his favorite for dinner to celebrate the end of his middle school years. He was almost certain that there would be popcorn and a movie marathon later in the evening as well. Plus, he had just thought of a way for the Hero Kamui Woods to maximize his attack range indoors and he needed to write it down before he forgot! Unfortunately, with the happy thoughts of what home held occupying his attention, Izuku failed to notice the presence that had slithered up behind him.

Despite being caught unawares by the cool, slimy feeling of the sludge-like substance enveloping him, Izuku did not cry out. Years of practice kept his mouth firmly shut and made it harder for the Sludge to accomplish it's goal of entering him. "hmm," the oversized slug spoke, indicating it was sentient. Izuku cataloged the information away just as his airway was blocked. "A medium sized body to hide in, how convenient!" Izuku could feel the shifting emotions of the Sludge that surrounded him even as he felt his lungs begin to burn. He knew he could last longer if he loosened the reigns on his… side-effect. Eating emotions gave him a boost in nearly every way, but he hated doing it for many reason. Least of all was the breaking of his personal promise once again…

Finally, the instinct to survive won out over his guilt and Izuku activated his Quirk. The Sludge, who had thought he was winning, grew confused as the boy in his grasp remained alert and alive without oxygen for far longer than was normal. Izuku tasted that confusion. Sipped it down in small pieces so as not to take too much and alert the Sludge of the changes. Just a Izuku felt his grip on his Quirk slipping to the point of no return a voice bellowed behind them.

"fear not kid," the Sludge turned and Izuku was able to watch as a large figure emerged from the manhole that the Sludge it's self must have come from, "I am here!" Izuku had only a split second to recognize the unique hair, large build, and blinding smile of one of the world's greatest Heroes before the Sludge around him burst under the force of All Might's fist. For a couple moments afterwards, the greenette sat in shock as his mind tried to process the situation… he had just been saved by Japan's top Hero. Both from the Sludge and his own quirk. How could he repay this?

With a sudden epiphany and the haste of a man on a mission, Izuku tore through his bag and found the sheet of paper that help one of his theories. This one was about All Might himself and had the potential to help the Hero if he decided to look into it. It also had a thank you note written on the back. Izuku carried it around all the time just on the off chance he would meet this Hero. By the time Izuku found the paper, All Might had gathered the bits of Sludge into a couple of bottles and had been speaking about how he was sorry Izuku was involved in the villain hunt, but that he had been a great help in catching the Sludge. Izuku ran to him with the paper and All Might made to reach out and sign it, but Izuku pulled it back and shook his head. The Hero looked surprised and confused so Izuku grabbed his large hand, set the paper in it, and closed the man's finders around it before pushing the hand back towards All Might.

The man's eyes lit in understanding. "for me?" Izuku nodded with a small smile. All Might had to blink at the sight. Something about the child seemed entirely too cute… it was almost eerie. "thank you, my boy! I will be going now! A Hero battles not only vilains, but time!" and then the Hero launched himself into the air and faded from Izuku's view. All Might was nearly out of time and would find a secluded alley to deflate in. The Hero felt guilt and regret build in his mind as he landed and exhaled. His heroic form diminishing into a frail, too thin body and his heart heavy as he longed to do more for Japan.

Izuku continued home, both elated and devastated. He had met Japan's number 1 Hero and even passed along one of his theories on how All Might could improve his time limit that seemed to be getting shorter rather rapidly. That had been wonderful! Izuku had also used… It again and now he would have to let his power out sooner than usual. He had tried so hard to keep that promise he made years ago, but then the second side-effect of his primary Quirk had appeared and he had no choice but to use it from time to time. He could already feel the pressure building up beneath his skull due to the extra energy eating emotions provided. He knew he would look better than normal too, almost ethereal, with a warm glow of power under his skin. It was because he had to regularly break his promise and use his dangerous Quirk that Izuku was so willing to accept Kachan's abuse. Logically, Izuku knew, he couldn't help his Quirk or its features and that he shouldn't feel such guilt over it. Still, he could find it in himself to forgive all that he did to keep his Quirk satisfied enough to remain under control. He had managed to keep his promise to never use his Quirk again for three whole years until it had naturally leveled up and the headache started. It was the first and last time he ever ignored that warning sign. He hung his head in shame as he found his way to the usual old, abandoned building where he could use his Voice without anyone accidently hearing.

Neither the slowly declining Hero nor the boy with the undeserved burden noticed the bottles containing the Sludge slip from All Might's pockets as he leaped through the air.

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Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome!

I do not own BnHA and I do not make money from this story.

Thank you to all of the story followers and favorites and cyber hugs to my reviewers! You guys make me smile~

I don't have too much to chat about in this note, but I would like to clear up a little bit about Izuku's strange Quirk.

First, the initial assessment of Izuku's Quirk was both accurate and incomplete. Second, his ability has grown with him and changed as it progressed. I will tell you that his Quirk has a lot more to do with emotions than he thinks...

And, that's it!

Once again, this chapter has only been edited and revised by yours truly.

Allow me to present...

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Chapter 3: A Good Reason

Izuku knew he should avoid the bustling, curious crowd and find a secluded place to use his Quirk and ease the slowly building pressure in his skull. There was no telling how long he had before the headache grew and his control weakened until it was lost. Something was pulling at him though; a long buried instinct urging him into the crowd and away from the safety of seclusion. As he bobbed and weaved his way to the front of the crowd he first noticed the Heroes. Of course he knew them all, he had at least one page of analysis for each of them, but what he paid attention to was their lack of action. Then, he looked to the focal point at the center of the scene and it made sense.

There stood the Sludge from earlier with some poor soul being slowly consumed. "…he has some middle school kid…" someone in the crowd next to Izuku spoke loud enough for him to hear. So, another kid like him had been taken hostage by this evil being. Izuku knew that without his Quirk he only would have lasted a minute at most with that sludge clogging his airway. The kid was going to die if no one stepped in soon… why weren't the Heroes doing anything?

When he looked closer at the situation it became clear to his analyst brain. The Heroes on scene were not suited to save the hostage and didn't know how to improvise without their Quirks getting in the way. If they hit the Sludge wrong they could kill the hostage and the Sludge seemed to be able to direct the hostage's explosion… Quirk…that seemed very familiar…

It was then that green eyes met terrified cherry red and everything clicked in Izuku's head.

The hostage was Kachan! Katsuki was going to die because the Heroes didn't know how to work around their own weaknesses! Izuku wanted to cry and scream and DO SOMETHING! The only thing he could do… he could use It… but he had promised…

Keeping his promise was not worth the life of a (relatively) innocent person though. No promise was worth that. And Katsuki Bakugou may not have been nice, but he was still Izuku's only friend.

Izuku was moving before his brain could process his decision. As he ran towards the danger his natural defenses powered up fully and the soft ache in his head seemed to become an excited buzz instead. He had pulled the hood of the sweatshirt he kept with him (to change into when his uniform top got damaged or dirty) up to cover his hair before breaking through the edge of the crowd. If he was going to let his Quirk loose he needed to be as indistinguishable as possible after it was all over.

He heard the cries for him to stop and understood the panic, but he knew something they did not: the boy running towards the threat was significantly more dangerous. Especially now that he had resigned himself to using his Quirk. Releasing the full flow of his secondary Quirk was like taking flight, but using his primary would be ecstasy. It always was honestly. After fighting to hold it back for so long, the release of control felt so freeing that it could easily become addictive. That's part of why Izuku's Quirk was so dangerous… but now was not the time to fret over it.

His approach had gained the attention of the Sludge and, it seemed, Katsuki. The blonde's eyes held nothing but terror and panicked pleading, but the Sludge only seemed amused. Izuku took a deep, steadying breath and focused on the Sludge. "Hello," as he spoke he kept his intentions clear in his mind and the spell instantly took hold. "Would you mind letting that boy go?" the Sludge's eyes glazed over and it shivered before slowly retracting from Katsuki and letting him drop unceremoniously to the ground. "very good, thank you." The Sludge quivered again and it's sharp toothed grin became a bit dopey. Izuku's voice was surprisingly soft and smooth despite how rarely he made use of his vocal cords.

In the back of his mind Izuku knew that the crowd had gone quiet enough to hear him and the Heroes had gone still in surprise at the results of his actions, but they were unimportant now. "Mr. Sludge, would you please allow the authorities to arrest you now? What you've done is not OK and you need to take responsibility for your crimes…" the Sludge's eyes rolled back and it's jaw went slack with a pleased gasp before it nodded in fanatic agreement: desperate to please Izuku even at the loss of their own freedom. It shakily collected it's self and moved towards the closest police unit, all the while watching Izuku with unholy admiration.

Izuku, for his part, ignored the Sludge as he approached his once best friend. The blond was supine on the ground with one leg bent at the knee and one arm over his eyes. It seemed as if Katsuki was trying to swallow air rather than breath it. Izuku made sure to void himself of all emotion and not put any will behind the words he next spoke. "Let's get you up." His voice was soft and Katsuki seemed unaware that he had spoken.

Izuku was gentle and slow as he placed his hand on Kachan's shoulder. He noticed the small flinch his touch provoked, but did not point it out or pay it any extra attention as he began slowly maneuvering the blond into a sitting position. "Sitting up might help you breath easier…" Izuku's voice was steady and audibly empty of emotion, but it seemed to help Katsuki calm down a bit. As the blond relaxed a bit, so too did the hooded rescuer now offering unimposing support.

The problem with Izuku relaxing was that he dropped his guard. He was unprepared for the sudden eye contact Katsuki forced by lifting his head. For a moment there was recognition in Kachan's eyes, but confusion and doubt took over quickly. "but… Deku… you can't be him!" The words sounded rough and scratchy after the abuse to his throat.

Izuku had a split second to escape this situation with his secrets intact. He morphed his face into a mirror of soft confusion and appropriate concern. "Who is Deku? Should I have the authorities call him for you?" Katsuki blinked and looked closer at the face of his rescuer. Izuku knew that he would see the soft glow of power behind his eyes that altered their color a bit and the warm radiance permeating his skin that always occured after he released his Quirk. After a moment he shook his head and scoffed, averting his always-angry eyes to his lap once more. The small changes were enough to convince Katsuki, for the time being, that his rescuer was a separate person from his childhood friend.

"Che, no. That nerd wouldn't be able to do anything anyway…" To Izuku's great relief, it was about this time that the Heroes had secured the scene and were making their way over to check on the two boys. Izuku patted Katsuki on the back softly and rose to his feet with impressive grace.

"I should go, but they will take care of you." Katsuki looked up at Izuku as if he wanted to say something, but he just nodded and remained sitting. It was unlike him and that worried Izuku, but if he wanted to keep up the identity charade he couldn't let Kachan see the concern. Izuku didn't look back at Katsuki or the Heroes while he fled the scene. If he had he would have seen the looks of awe and interest directed at his back and determination reflected in his only friend's fiery eyes.

Katsuki couldn't have told you the exact sequence of events if you'd held him at gun point. It was a big blur in between screwing around with the lackey extras who always tailed after him to finally being able to breathe again as someone with gentle hands eased him into a sitting position. He had been taken by surprise by a guy with a Quirk that turned his body into mud or something. The guy had tried to kill him by cutting off his airways and would have succeeded if it weren't for… why did his rescuer seem so familiar? Spots had already been consuming his vision by the time the… person had gotten close to the slimy mud guy. He couldn't see clearly and the noise around him was muffled by the slime man's body, but some instinct told Katsuki that the human-like figure approaching was on his side.

His lungs were screaming for oxygen, his throat was burning raw, and his eye sight was filmy and blotchy. Even distracted with all the things that were wrong in that moment, Katsuki noticed the sudden hush around the slime and himself. He heard the muffled voice of the lone figure; the only person with balls enough to run towards the obvious danger. Even the pros had kept their distance. Then, without warning, the slime guy was pulling away from Katsuki and oxygen (precious, sweet, wonderful oxygen) was filling his lungs again. He found himself abruptly deposited on the ground in an inelegant heap. He turned to cough, which hurt like a bitch, and then lay on his back. He threw one arm haphazardly over his eyes and simply enjoyed his new favorite pastime: breathing.

There was a noise beside him and then he was silently cursing himself for the slight flinch in reaction to the hand on his shoulder. Katsuki Bakugou didn't flinch. He just didn't. But, apparently, now he did. Then the hand was applying gentle pressure to help ease him up. "Sitting up might help you breath better…" Katsuki had not expected the voice that spoke. It was soft and smooth and completely devoid of emotion. It was calming to Katsuki in a way that was both confusing and completely understandable. There was no judgement or false concern or, worse, pity.

Katsuki was great. He had been born great. He had an amazing, unique and powerful Quirk that far outclassed everyone else in his school. All his life the only people who had ever effectively criticized him were his parents and… well, Deku. That didn't mean that Katsuki didn't judge himself harshly to make up for society's slacking. He knew that being great meant he was obligated to do great things. So, while all the peons around him could only stand by and praise him, Katsuki made it his mission to prove he was the best.

The first person to ever make him doubt his own greatness was Izuku; the little quirkless nerd with no real prospects for the future. Katsuki had slipped from a slimy patch of bark on the log he and some of his classmates, Izuku included, had been marching across. He fell hard and it was painful, but none of the other boys had dared to ask if he was ok. He was Katsuki, their fearless and ruthless leader, after all. But Izuku had been his friend far longer and was more concerned with Katsuki's wellbeing than his pride. The green haired boy had reached a hand out to pull him up: warm smile gracing already silent lips. Katsuki felt something at the sight of that smile that embarrassed him more than the situation itself, so he slapped the hand away and made a snide comment that spurred a great change in their relationship.

The longer Izuku stayed silent and didn't shove back at Kasuki, the more frustrated the blond became. How was it that someone so obviously weak was so damn strong willed? Admiration grew parallel to irritation as the years progressed and that embarrassing feeling continued to bubble in Katsuki's heart every time his eyes met unwavering green. Something inside of Katsuki whispered that his oldest and, truthfully, only friend was using that strong will as a shield for some great and terrible secret. Maybe Katsuki was a bully, but it was the only reaction to Izuku's silence and distance that satisfied both the need to be near him and the anger he provoked within the blond.

This voice, with its lack of feeling and cool indifference, reminded Katsuki of Izuku; the only person who never seemed awed by his 'grater-than-thou' act or cowed by his fiery intimidation tactics. It made him feel… safe, comfortable, at ease despite the events just moments before. Katsuki felt a sudden overpowering need to see the guys face. Impulse control was never his strength, so he looked. The wave of shock was followed by confusion and disbelief when he found himself looking into two wide, emerald orbs.

"But…" Katsuki's mind was spinning. He knew only one person with eyes that contained the shades of green he saw. And all those freckles scattered like stars across high, plush cheeks were so familiar it stung like a slap to the face. "_Deku…"_ the name, usually said with a sharpness meant to cut deep, was barely more than a rough whisper as it left his mouth. There was no way… "You can't be him!" the vibration of the yell sent pain ripping through his throat, but that didn't matter right now.

If this boy, who had not only rushed in to save someone even as the pros had hesitated (which was just like that stupid Deku now that he thought about it…) but who was capable of speech, was _that_ Izuku then Katsuki was right! Izuku had been hiding a giant secret that hinged on his silence and he had broken that silence for… what? For Katsuki? The boy who had bullied and belittled him for most of their lives? Unlikely, despite the tentative hope that filled him at the though that Izuku cared enough about him to break his silence. But if it was Deku…

"Who is Deku?" wait, what? The question pulled the blond up short. Katsuki blinked to clear his thoughts and focused on the boy in front of him. He looked… concerned and confused? "Should I have the authorities call him for you?" the boy, who Katsuki would have bet money was Izuku just seconds ago, suddenly seemed a little less familiar. The eyes were vibrant shades of green like Deku's, but lighter overall and his freckles were fewer and less prominent on skin that radiated with some sort of power just beneath the surface… the two were undeniable similar, but not quite the same.

"Che," Katsuki huffed at his own stupidity. Izuku didn't speak, hadn't for years, and even if that silence was a choice there was no way the nerd would break it for Katsuki's sake. "No. That nerd wouldn't be able to do anything anyway." He pulled his eyes away from the familiar features on a stranger's face and looked down at his hands resting in his lap. Hands that had hurt Izuku many times over the years, but couldn't fight their way out of the clutches of a giant glob of mud… Katsuki would have to train harder. Once again, Deku managed to make him feel inadequate even without saying or doing anything. The nerd wasn't even around and he was intruding on Katsuki's thoughts!

"I should go, but they will take care of you." Katsuki snapped his head up to say… something to his rescuer of sorts, but then he realized that this wasn't Izuku. This wasn't his oldest friend. This boy was just a kid who had been walking by and happened to have a way to help out. So Katsuki just nodded his acknowledgment and swore to himself that if this kid showed up again he wouldn't treat him as an extra.

Suddenly, Katsuki was surrounded by Pro Heroes and paramedics. The Heroes told him he was very strong and that his Quirk was amazing. One even asked him to consider being his sidekick once he was in a Hero Course. The paramedics helped keep the Heroes out of his personal space as they looked him over and he was grateful for that. One of the Heroes (the one with the wood Quirk, whatever his name was. He was an extra anyway…) asked about the other kid. As if Katsuki would know anything! Of course, once the first question was asked the flood gates were open on the topic of the mystery kid. All Katsuki knew was that the kid had green eyes, a soft voice and was probably a teen. Once the heroes calmed down a little bit and realized they were practically interrogating a middle school kid who had just gone through a villain attack, Katsuki was escorted home and encouraged to try for being a Hero.

After dinner, which consisted of good food and near constant arguing between mother and himself, Katsuki went to bed. He couldn't sleep with all of the thoughts circling his mind. He asked himself questions and the conclusions were not always desirable. He had been afraid and his fighting back had been out of panic, not planning. He didn't know enough about his Quirk to improvise when the cards were stacked against him. He didn't want to be a Hero like the ones today, who could only watch when a life was at stake because they only knew one way of fighting. He would have liked to know the name of the kid who _did_ save him. Lastly, and most irritating, he wanted that kid to be Deku…

By the time he finally succumbed to exhaustion, Katsuki had decided two things; first, he would train harder than anyone before the U.A. exams and second, he would make an effort to treat Izuku better no matter the situation. His dreams were haunted by unrelenting mud, mysterious hooded figures, and a version of himself that was powerless, but before the panic set in and woke him the hooded figure became Izuku and Katsuki became strong enough to destroy the mud.

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Thank you for reading!

WitS~


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome!

I do not own BnHA and do not plan to make money off of this story.

Dearest readers, I am so happy you're here! Thank you to everyone who has left a review, I greatly appreciate your in-put! Also, thank you for the follows and the favorites, they keep me going.

In previous notes I mentioned that my muses come and go as they please and writing is a hobby, not a job to me, thus my writing schedule will fluctuate. This still rings true.

I will warn you now, the rating for this fic may go up. I am prone to Seasonal Depression and when I get depressed my modes of expression get a bit… darker. That being said, the story is about to pick up pace.

This story has no beta.

Now, may I present…

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Chapter 4:The Best Laid Plans

The months before the U.A. exam were strenuous at best. At first, Izuku spent his days chasing down Hero fights for the most part. He expanded upon his analysis portfolios for several active Heroes and even started keeping notebooks for the villains they faced as well as records of the fights. In between all the record keeping, he studied until his mind shut off and he passed out. His mother was the only reason he ate regularly.

If this was all there was to it, he couldn't have claimed any real hardships, but Izuku had another trial to overcome. His Quirk had refused to settle down after the Sludge villain attack. Izuku had felt the tremendous relief that using his primary always gave him, but it was extremely short lived. His head hurt almost constantly despite following his usual methods of easing that tension and he found himself subconsciously raising his secondary Quirk usage level. It was like his power had leveled up again and his body couldn't contain it anymore.

It was because if how disoriented his headaches made him that he had, by chance, stumbled upon a secluded beach that had collected so much garbage it deterred people naturally. It also had several hiding places incase someone did stop by while Izuku was using his Quirk. It was about a week after he had made the trash infested beach his hideaway that he learned something else about himself and his Quirk. He had spent nearly thirty minutes singing and quoting whatever he could think of to try and ease the pressure behind his skull, but it wasn't working. It was in his frustration that he took a swing at a large metal fridge, his physical Quirk already fully active, and screamed in anger. The fridge flew, his headache disappeared, and he figured out that physical exertion helped keep both of his Quirks under control. So, Izuku started planning.

With this discovery, Izuku formulated a schedule that allotted him time for analysis, study, and an increasingly difficult work out regime. He had never been particularly active, but he found out he was surprisingly athletic despite his short frame. He built muscle quickly, possibly because of his secondary Quirk, and he found that he had to increase the difficulty of his work outs rather frequently. As part of his efforts, he began clearing the refuse from the beach.

The time spent working on analysis left him with a large portfolio packed with information he had gleaned from watching Heroes at work. He had also included different ways that each Hero might be able to improvise with their Quirk and without it. As an extra project, he had compiled a portfolio for the villains he saw. In each Hero file he included the villains they were best and worst suited to battle against. He knew that for most schools it would seem like overkill, but he wanted to attend U.A. so he had to put his best foot forward.

Seeing as constant and vigorous reading wasn't working well for information retention, Izuku started doing his studying in small bursts. He found that focusing on one topic at a time and inserting it casually into his regular daily patters helped him retain the information better. It was kind of like sliding scale exposure learning or something… all he knew was that it worked for him. At the start of the week Izuku had sent in his portfolio and began his study review. He had also increased his physical efforts as a way to focus his energy and mind. Yesterday, he had done nothing but rest. The exception being a light jog in the morning to avoid feeling sick all day. He spent some quality time with his mother, chatting and watching shows and doing simple chores, until it was time to sleep. This morning, before the test, he had just finished his scheduled run and would be leaving shortly.

"Izu-kun! Breakfast!" Izuku smiled at the sound of his mother's voice. She was still the most precious person in the world to him and always would be. With his father… away, Izuku was her only focus in life. Because of the unfortunate events of years ago, their relationship was always edged with guilt on Izuku's part. He did all he could to show her that he was happy and healthy and becoming a good person all thanks to _her_ efforts. She, in turn, supported him with all of her heart. Analysis after all, was much safer and more reasonable than Heroics for a boy without a Quirk or a voice.

His socked feet made no noise as he padded his way to the kitchen. Stealth had gotten slightly more difficult as he built muscle, but Izuku had started to include flexibility training and dance into his routine and the issue was resolved. He would never be body-builder bulky simply because he hated the limited freedom of motion. He, instead, tried for a middle ground between strength and maneuverability. Izuku had no plans to test his athletic prowess, but he figured he would fair well enough for a civilian.

"Ah," his mother smiled when she saw him enter the kitchen. "If it isn't my soon-to-be high school attendee!" Izuku blushed a bit around his grin. He wasn't so confident as to assume he would be accepted by U.A. so he had applied for two other highschools. Their tests had been earlier in the week and he had been accepted by both. No matter what happened today, he had a plan for the future. "Take a seat and I'll bring you your food." Izuku followed his mother's directions without hesitation.

They ate together, Inko chattering away and Izuku adding his non-verbal two cents where he could. It was relaxed and perfect as far as the two Midoriya's were concerned. Then, with a quick look at the clock, the moment was done. It was time to face the future.

"I love you Izuku, be careful and good luck." Inko wrapped her son in a gentle, warm hug and found that she had to lean up a bit to kiss his forehead. He had grown again, she realized. Izuku, her sweet baby, was growing up in so many ways. She had to fight the tears that threatened to fall as Izuku let her go and adjusted his grip on the strap of his bag. He smiled to beat the sun before spinning around and heading off to U.A.

Inko was equal parts proud and sad as she watched him until he faded from her line of sight.

U.A. was huge! Izuku knew it was big, but standing before it he thought colossal was a more accurate descriptive. He had arrived early, so they could prepare for any adjustments he would need due to his circumstances, but there was already a small crowd of potential students. Most of the kids were huddled in small groups that seemed familiar to them, but he saw one or two standing alone. He walked past them all, garnering a few looks of interest on the way, and approached the intercom on the entrance gate. He had been assured that the Com had a camera as well so he held up the permission slip they had sent him after pressing the bell button. The camera must have been real, because the side gate let out a long beep and swung open almost instantly.

Izuku made it through the gate and waited to be sure it closed behind him. He was met about halfway across the court yard by, he assumed, a test proctor. "Midoriya Izuku , my name is Aizawa Shota." The man had dark circles and bloodshot eyes that told Izuku he was perpetually lacking an appropriate amount of sleep. His un-brushed hair and five o'clock shadow made it seem like his time was very limited and his voice was the audible definition of exhaustion. "I'm a pro Hero and a teacher here. I'll also be the Proctor overseeing your practical testing and thus I'm the one that needs to know what you need." Izuku hadn't seen a Hero with a build like this man's and he followed all of the Pros very closely, so he had to assume Mr. Aizawa was an underground Hero.

After looking Izuku up and down, Aizawa turned around and set a dragging pace towards the main building. Izuku decided he should follow and kept a silent pace just behind the somewhat imposing man. Mr. Aizawa was rough around the edges in all the ways a person could be, but Izuku wasn't aiming to be an analyst for nothing. He saw the way the man used his tired Visage to cover up just how aware he really was. He had been calculating Izuku's measure as a threat and a liability from the moment they met and possibly before that. The greenette would bet money that Aizawa was almost 100% accurate in his calculation as well. In a fight, the only advantage Izuku held was the fact that his Quirk was secret. Then again, he didn't know Mr. Aizawa's Quirk either…

"The practical exam will take place after the written, so we will have time to make necessary adjustments for you." Aizawa lead him through a hallway and into what seemed to be the schools auditorium. It was almost a big as the concert hall Izuku's mother had taken him to when he was 12. It looked like it could seat at least 1,000 people if not more.

"This is where the Hero examinees will be given their directions." Mr. Aizawa pointed to the stage with three giant retractable projector screens hanging at different angles behind the podium. "And you, along with any other Support examinees who hope to enter a field that works more directly with Heroes, will begin your test by watching them from here. You will not be allowed to analyze any examinees who you've met previously."

Aizawa then lead him through a different exit and into a room with several screens and a few different seats. "This is the testing room for observation based courses. I believe only you and one other kid are shooting for the analyst course, but don't let that fool you: we won't let you in just because there isn't a huge bunch of testers. U.A. accepts only the best after all." Izuku bobbed his head in understanding. That's the very reason he had applied to three schools instead of just this one.

Aizawa focused sleep deprived eyes on the green haired boy who wanted to become an analyst. The kid was on the small side and he had not one, but two major disadvantages in life, but his eyes shown with indomitable determination. The Hero wasn't much for optimistic sentiments, but he was interested to see what Midoriya Izuku had to offer. "There is a new feature to this year's exam…" Aizawa was sure he'd be chewed out for this last minute decision, but he felt it would be worth it.

Izuku, who had been studying the room with single minded focus, turned to look at Mr. Aizawa curiously. From what he could tell, they didn't often make changes to the tests that were tried and true. Was this change because of him?

"You and you're fellow examinee will be allowed to pilot Viewing Bots in the sections you are assigned to. These Bots will give you a closer look at the action and allow you to interact with the Hero examinees in your section. You may even get to instruct them a bit… like a Field Director…"

Izuku felt like his eyes might pop right out of his skull with the way they widened in surprise. Field Direction was the pinnacle of an analysis career path. U.A. really was leaps and bounds ahead of other schools! The only problem was that being Field Director meant he needed to communicate with the Hero examinees and without a voice…

He locked eyes with Mr. Aizawa , the question obvious on his face. "Yes, we have taken your needs into account. The Bots are equipped with voice boxes that can vocalize written words. You will have to type your instructions for the examinees." Izuku sighed in relief before nodding his understanding. Maybe… he could ask the school about using a similar Bot every day if he managed to pass their test. "Oh, but the Viewing Bots are an optional thing. We don't expect middle school kids to jump right into Field Direction if they aren't ready… you won't be docked points if you choose not to."

Izuku scrunched up his face in a rather apparent display of affronted irritation. It was as if the kid couldn't believe that Aizawa would even offer an out on this, admittedly, difficult task. Aizawa liked his spark, even if he would never admit it out loud, and the kid was pleasantly quiet. Sure, the quiet was because of extenuating circumstances, but it was still quiet…

"That's really all there is to it. Do you need any extra adjustments?" Izuku shook his head. The Bots could speak for him and that was all he needed; everything else seemed pretty cut and dry. "Alright, I'll take you to the written exam hall and you will wait for your peers." So, moments later, Izuku was alone at a desk in another excessively large room and Aizawa was off to tell his boss about the required last minute adjustments.

On his was to Nezu's office, Aizawa contemplated the kid. Small package, obviously disadvantaged, but still Midoriya Izuku was determined to make something of himself. He hadn't set unrealistic goals, but they were quite lofty for someone so young. The underground Hero couldn't help but wonder what Izuku could have become with a Quirk or a voice…

Izuku was worried about how quickly the main part of the test had gone for him…

It wasn't easy, exactly, but it was less difficult than he figured it would be. He hadn't run into a single question he didn't know at least the slightest bit about and couldn't, at the very least, make an educated guess for. It seemed his study method had paid off in the end. Then the personal questions had began and there were no wrong answers.

He felt a steady pulse of guilt every time he marked a question about his 'Quirk' as non-applicable. For the most part, Izuku was honest though. He didn't mind answering questions about his political views or how he felt about certain aspects of Hero culture. It was actually nice to be offered the chance to express his views clearly and without a conversational time limit. He was a quick hand at notes, but no one could write as quickly as speaking without Quirk assistance.

He wasn't the first person to finish, but he was closer to the head of the line that the middle. He waited longer than needed to make sure he wasn't particularly remarkable in terms of speed and to ensure that Katsuki was done before him. That would have been a huge mess if he had turned in his test before the blond. Though, he didn't really have to worry much because Katsuki was among the first few finished.

It was weird. Katsuki had all but ignored Izuku for the last couple of months. It was as if the blond had undergone some profound change practically overnight. He didn't go out of his way to pick on Izuku even though the greenette had looked up and locked gazes with moody red eyes on several occasions. The only thing Izuku could blame the changes on, though he really wasn't complaining, was the Sludge villain incident. Even now, as the blond stood in the waiting area that was far from full even with several other students, he chose to be near Izuku without taking violent action. It was almost like before the log incident… almost like they were real friends.

Katsuki arrived only fifteen minutes before the written exam was set to start. He didn't want to have to wait too long and loose patience, but he really didn't want to be late and leave a poor impression or be prevented from taking the exam. This was his only option for high school after all. He had boldly and awesomely, not foolishly despite what the old hag said, chosen to only take one entrance exam: U.A.'s.

He had spent his whole middle school career preparing for this and there was no way he could fail. He was smart and he had studied. His Quirk was equal parts unique and powerful. He had even started training his body so his fitness level was pretty high. Not to mention his natural battle sense that was tried and tested against would-be middle school delinquents and… well, he supposed he had never really fought Izuku. On that note…

Bakugou Katsuki, like his mother Mitsuki, was not the type to apologize for anything. That didn't mean he didn't feel sorry for some actions… like the ones he had taken against his oldest friend. It became clear to him after the Mud guy thing just how much he wanted Izuku to notice and like him. Then, back at school, he had seen the way Izuku tried to avoid him and it had stung. It had never been his goal, but his own actions had caused the rift between them.

Katsuki had given Deku space after that, even though it frustrated him to no end. He knew that Izuku planned to attend U.A. just like Katsuki so there was time to try and correct his mistakes. At least, he thought there would be, but when he had arrived he hadn't seen any sign of Izuku's distinct green-black curls. He wasn't about to ask around to some of the earlier arrivals. Most of theses kids wouldn't make it into the demanding program and thusly were not worth talking to. Still, it would almost be worth it just to ease the ball of tension resting heavy in his guts.

Fifteen minutes after he arrived, right on time, the huge gates opened to allow everyone in. Katsuki still hadn't seen neither hide nor hair of Izuku, but he would have to go in anyway. He followed the flow of fourteen and fifteen year old kids trough the main doors and down a hall straight into an obnoxiously huge classroom lined wall to wall with desks. It was as everyone began sitting that a flash of familiar color caught his eyes and he finally saw Izuku. He was in a prime seat towards the back of the room and closest to the windows. He must have been one of the first in the progression of kids. Katsuki couldn't help the quiet growl of frustration that bubbled from his throat and had the guy closest to him almost wetting his pants. Not a single seat anywhere close to Izuku was open.

He would just have to finish his test quickly and make sure they could wait together until lunch…

He had arrived early out of habit mostly and because it meant getting away from the house for a little longer. There were a few others already mulling around outside of the gates, so he wasn't too out of place. That was nice, he supposed, but he wouldn't have cared either way. He waited and watched as more people around his age gathered. A few stood out due to oddness of appearance or loudness of character. Then, nearly an hour before the exam was scheduled to start, a boy arrived.

It wasn't the arrival that stood out, or even the boy himself. He had uniquely colored, some unnatural seeming cross between greens and black, hair that fell in tight ringlets around a heart shaped face. Though, he supposed, he didn't really have any right to comment on odd hair colors with his own being quite unique. The boys eyes were a vibrant mix of greens and his cheeks hosted a generous dusting of freckles. He was… cute, in a way, but rather unremarkable otherwise. What was remarkable was the way he marched right up to the gate, flashed a slip of paper, and gained instant entrance onto the campus.

To keep a visual , he had moved closer to the front of the slowly building crowd. He watched as the strange boy was met by an imposing, if lethargic looking, man who lead him inside. Then, as there was nothing to see anymore, he turned around and watched the ever growing crowd. It wasn't until after they had been let in and lead to a giant classroom that he saw the boy again. Curious and at the head of the pack, he chose a seat close to the boy in order to observe a bit more before the test began. He wasn't sure why, but he found the green haired guy intriguing.

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Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello and welcome!

I own nothing and make no money from writing this story.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween (if you celebrate it). This was a difficult chapter to complete for some reason...

Thank you so much for all of your support! Those who left reviews have made me so happy I can't even! And all of the follows and favorites are like fuel for my creative fire!

Once again, no Beta.

Without further random ranting, I present to you...

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Chapter 5: Opportunity and Obstacles

The sheer number of people in the auditorium was astounding to Izuku. Standing at the back of the house, behind all the seats and close to the exits, he had a perfect view of hundreds of heads. All of them belonged to Hero hopefuls and only thirty-six of them would make the cut. He knew this because everyone trying for a different course had been sorted and taken to different areas to attend their own practical tests.

Izuku, along with six other examinees, was allowed into the auditorium for one reason: their desired fields relied directly on observing and working with Heroes. Izuku had been introduced to a boy named Ichimaru Shou who was also hoping to pass the Analyst exam. The other five students were Risk Assessment and Management examinees. Apparently, Mr. Aizawa was in charge of both exams seeing as they were held in the same general space and had so few testers.

"Welcome to today's live performance!" The familiar voice of Present Mic filled the auditorium almost too abruptly. Izuku felt his lips stretch into an excited grin at the sight of a very real, very popular Hero. "Everybody say "Hey"!" Izuku, of course, kept silent. So did everyone else. Present Mic acted unperturbed, but Izuku detected a slight shift in his demeanor. The Hero wasn't exactly comfortable with the lack of response, but he was a professional.

"Well, that's cool my examinee listeners!" Present Mic's recovery was near instantaneous. "I'm here to present the guidelines for your practical! Are you ready?" Izuku watched the voice Hero inhale with purpose and quickly covered his ears. "YEAH!" the boom of his voice was at the farthest edge of a normal human vocal spectrum rather than in the Hero's personal spectrum, but it was overly loud nonetheless. The crowd remained silent. Present Mic continued on as if the crowds reaction was exactly as planned.

"This is how the test will go my listeners! You'll be experiencing 10 minute long 'Mock Cityscape Maneuvers'!" As he spoke a diagram flashed onto the hanging monitors behind him. It was a large rectangle labeled 'Current Location' that had seven branches leading to smaller rectangles labeled 'A' through 'G'. "Bring along whatever you want! After this presentation, you'll all head to your assigned test location! OK!" Again, silence from the examinees.

Present Mic went on to explain the point system and rules of the test. Izuku realized there was a hidden purpose for the test as well. Despite not saying it aloud one thing was obvious; being a Hero was and always would be about _saving lives _more then _fighting villains. _His theory was confirmed when the tall, muscular boy with glasses asked about the fourth mock villain and Present Mic called it a valueless, undefeatable obstacle. This gave Izuku a clue as to what to watch and plan for. He wondered if Ichimaru-kun had caught on yet…

"Plus Ultra! Break a leg everyone!" With that, the Hero examinees began sorting themselves and Mr. Aizawa lead the RAM and Analyst testers to the Observation Room. The walk there was quiet due to nerves, but the air was charged with excitement all the same. Izuku would not deny his own excited anxiety at the prospect of making another step towards his goal. Only once all seven of the examinees were in the Observation Room did Mr. Aizawa speak.

"Your tests rely on your ability to observe and process information quickly and accurately." The perpetually exhausted man sighed as he looked at the kids in front of him. Izuku got the notion that the man was running statistics and ratios over in his head on how many kids would actually pass. "For Risk Assessment and Management testers, I want you to choose at least one Hero hopeful and determine how to prepare for and minimize their 'On-Duty' destruction quota." He turned tired eyes towards Ichimaru and Izuku once the five RAM testers were settled at their assigned screens.

"Normally, you two would simply observe and create as thorough of an analysis as you can on at least one student. You can still do that, but this year you have a second option." Mr. Aizawa handed each of them a flat, obviously electronic device that Izuku assumed was a control screen. "These will allow you to pilot a single View Bot that will allow you to interact with the examinees in your assigned section." He let the information sink in for a moment.

"So…" Ichimaru looked up from the control screen in his hand and met Mr. Aizawa's gaze. "We would be, like… Field Directors?" The pro Hero confirmed Ichimaru's conclusion with a slight nod. "I think I'd rather stick to the traditional test… Directing is too stressful at my current level. Will I loose points for this decision?" Izuku was a bit shocked. He was ecstatic over the opportunity!

"No, you will not loose points by opting to take the usual test. You will simply be scored on a different set of criteria." Ichimaru nodded and sighed in relief. Giving battle directive to kids with powers he hadn't already analyzed seemed absolutely terrifying to him. It was already a lot to try and analyze the unfamiliar in ten minutes or less. "And your choice, Izuku?"

Ichimaru suspected that the silent Midoriya-kun was thinking much the same way he was. After all, analyzing an unstable situation and unfamiliar, thus unpredictable, elements all at once then charting a successful course of action was way beyond suitably difficult for a beginner. So, when the green haired boy clutched the control screen tighter and met Mr. Aizawa's eyes with his own determined gaze, Ichimaru was caught in a whirlwind of shock and awe. Midoriya Izuku was either the bravest or stupidest person he had ever met!

"That's a yes then." Mr. Aizawa's eyes seemed to flash with some unknown emotion before he turned away from them. "This is the screen for Exam space 'G' assigned to Ichimaru Shou." Mr. Aizawa then pointed to the screen beside it. "And this screen views exam space 'C' which you will be not only observing, Midoriya Izuku, but partially in control of." Izuku, even without a mirror, could tell that his grin was a tinge frightening by the way Ichimaru paled and Mr. Aizawa arched his brow. "Take a seat and we can begin…"

This, the physicality and violence, was so not his thing! How was this test even remotely fair! Sure, he was fit, but the test practically demanded a flashy and potentially destructive quirk or an insane level skill in some form of combat! Hitoshi Shinso had neither of those things, but he still wanted to be a Hero, damn it! The odds were stacked high against him.

He couldn't even try to use his quirk on one of the other examinees and have them take a "villain" out to see if the points would be counted as his. He wasn't sure if it would fall under the rule about not attaching other testers. It would suck to finish the exam with no points, but it would be worse to be disqualified and blacklisted from U.A. all together. Shinso had been in this fake city for nearly seven minutes now and all he had accomplished was keeping a few distracted idiots from a demeaning death-by-robot. He would have to bank on his test scores being good enough to earn a spot in general studies…

As he looked around the testing grounds again he noticed that most of the examinees were pretty close to each other. It made sense; all of them were working to get as many points as they could so they had all chased the source of the villain swarm. Something struck Shinso as odd though. The fourth villain, dubbed an obstacle, had yet to show and the test was almost complete…

Conveniently, the ground started to quiver under his feet and a building to the right of him exploded as a robot five times the size of the others appeared from the rubble. If the sheer size of the metal menace wasn't a dead give away, the huge red zero on its chest was enough to label it as the 'obstacle'. Shinso watched as the once confident examinees scrabble to get away from something that was obviously too much for them. Shinso noticed that the robot was easily sidetracked and it offered plenty of time to get away if properly distracted, but most of the examinees were too surprised to realize that there was no real need to panic. In there scramble, many of them missed the incoming attacks from the smaller bots.

Shinso, constantly aware of the world around him, did notice. He began subtly rerouting his panicked peers before they were clobbered by the villain bots. The obstacle bot herded them slowly back towards the starting gate and Shinso continued to save people from their own idiocy right up to the ten minute mark. He hadn't managed to earn a single point, but at least his conscience was clear. He would just have to keep his fingers crossed for a General Studies invitation and prove his worth that way…

* * *

Katsuki felt alive!

This was the first time in a long time that he was allowed to really let his Quirk go wild. He didn't have to restrain himself or worry about getting caught. It was glorious: the sweetest sort of freedom known to mankind and it was all his! He ignored the extras around him and rained fire and fists down upon the "villains" with reckless abandon. By his count he had already taken out 45 points worth.

He launched himself into the air and adjusted his body to land on top of a three pointer, fist exploding upon impact. The robot crumpled in on itself and Katsuki rolled with the momentum of its fall. He came to a stop in a crouch, fist smoking and wicked grin plastered across his face, before leaping into action once more. 48 points and counting.

He knew it was a long shot, but he hoped Deku was watching him kick ass…

* * *

None of them could be sure if the small robot giving them orders was another tester or a proctor or a part of the exam, but it was certainly helpful. Uraraka was surprised when the electronic voice had filled her ear after she had levitated a two point villain bot. She was even more surprised when the voice addressed her by name and she turned to find a small robot with a camera where a face logically belonged. "I am a Field Director for this exam. Would you be willing to work with me?" Uraraka, startled though she may be, knew perfectly well what a Field Director was and how essential they could be for missions. She agreed to be part of its plan eagerly.

She found that its understanding of her Quirk was almost more extensive than her own and that it knew perfectly well how to apply her abilities to the exam situation. The small bot had lead her to an open area where she was met with two other examinees. One of them had what appeared to be bat-like wings on his back and the other had engines in his legs. "You will all be partners now, please introduce yourselves and protect this area while I retrieve your final team member." The bot zoomed off into parts unknown and Uraraka met Shoji Mezo and Iida Tenya. They fought off seven robots in the time it took the small bot to return, but it gave them all a chance to learn how to work as a unit. "This is your final team member. Now we will complete this exam. Follow me."

Follow they did. They were lead quickly and efficiently to large groups of villain bots and instructed on how to easily end them. Their fourth member had no problem introducing himself in a very flamboyant manner as they moved. Aoyama Yuga was very much a show-boat, but his Navel Laser was extremely useful against the villain bots. It took a few tries to figure out how to work as a unit, but it would have taken significantly longer without the Field Director bot that knew a surprising amount about their Quirks. Within seven minutes each of them had garnered enough villain points to qualify for the Hero coarse and then some.

Uraraka, with her 39 points, was over the moon. Somehow, the little bot had known exactly how to apply her Quirk without maxing her limits. She had never felt so comfortable with her own ability in her entire life as she did when the bot was guiding her. They were quickly approaching the ten minute mark as her unit systematically downed villain after villain when the ground started to shake and buildings began to crumble. Suddenly, as if by magic, a decidedly gigantic bot appeared in front of them. "Fall back, regroup."

Her legs moved to follow the order before her mind had processed it, but she hesitated once she realized just how quickly she had taken to listening to the little bot. That brief moment of pause resulted in her standing still long enough for a piece of rubble to hit and pin her down. She couldn't reach it to levitate it and she couldn't wiggle her way free. The booming fall of gargantuan footsteps became thunder in her ears as they got closer. She was going to die.

She was only 15! Her parents needed her! She was supposed to become a pro Hero! Why, why did she have to die here? "Calm down and focus." Uraraka blinked away the tears and the panic as she focused on the robotic voice that had yet to fail her. "This frame is weak and I cannot do much, but your partners are buying us time." It was then that Uraraka realized the rhythmic boom of colossal foot steps had stopped.

"W-what do I need to do?" she heard a soft mechanical whirring and felt the large piece of rubble pinning her shift a bit. She screamed at the pain is caused.

"I am going to lift this enough for you to twist your torso and touch it. It will hurt, but you are strong." Uraraka felt a fresh wave of tears roll down her cheeks. No one had called her strong before or believed her capable enough to succeed like this. She bobbed her head to show that she understood. The moment the weight of the concrete started to shift she was in agony, but she pushed passed the pain and twisted enough to touch it with all five fingers. Then, the weight was gone and the pain was less.

"Clear out, mission successful!" She felt strong, warm arms wrap around her and looked up to see the bespectacled face of Iida Tenya. She looked past his shoulder to see Shoji and Aoyama following close behind with the Field Director bot zooming after them. Not too far behind, the giant bot was looking around. Then, with uncanny accuracy, the zero point villain locked onto their retreating forms. Uraraka froze, words of warning stuck in her throat, as the giant began its pursuit. It was gaining on them and there was still time in the exam.

"Move to the start gate, don't look back, don't falter." Uraraka felt Iida speed up, saw Shoji scoop Aoyama up and dart after them almost as fast. She watched the distance between their unit and the robot increase steadily and then she saw the giant stop… but the test hadn't been called yet. She watched, confused, as her vision began to fade. Then she finally saw the little bot, their Field Director, as it buzzed around the zero pointer and distracted it from chasing them down. She smiled at its antics until she saw the giant bat the little bot out of the air and into the ground.

"It's all… Over!" Uraraka lost consciousness due to pain and shock.

* * *

"Well kids… I guess that's it for now. Leave you're notes at your desk and someone will be in touch with you about your results." Aizawa spoke without inflection. He gave nothing away as to how he thought they did. It was admirable and a bit irritating. A sharp, rapid beeping filled the room and prompted a sigh from Mr. Aizawa who reached into his pocked and answered his phone. "Aizawa." There was a pause that lasted seconds. "Understood." He hung up and his eyes landed firmly on Izuku. "Follow me."

Izuku didn't hesitate as Mr. Aizawa left the room. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he figured it had to do with the exam. Maybe… he had done something wrong and was now prohibited from being a U.A. student…

Well, that was what his back up schools were for! He would be alright… maybe not as challenged as he would have been at U.A. but still alright. U.A. had the best Analysis coarse, not the only one and the other schools he had got into had very good stats as well. He would be… disappointed if U.A. turned him away, but not devastated.

Mr. Aizawa lead him down a few hallways and up a couple flights of stairs before they came to a very official looking door. The dark haired man knocked politely on the door and was prompted to enter by a voice from the other side. "Principal Nezu, I've brought Midoriya Izuku."

"Yes, thank you. I will conduct his interview personally. Please see to it that the exam pods are all properly reset and that all of the examinees make it safely off the grounds." Izuku stepped into the room when Mr. Aizawa motioned him forward. The sleep deprived man sighed once more before exiting and shutting the office door. The office was very big and elegantly decorated. The large chair behind a modern style desk was turned to face the large windows, hiding it's occupant from view. "Am I a dog, a mouse, a bear?" the chair swung around to reveal a small bipedal creature with white fur wearing a white shirt under a black waistcoat and red tie. "All you need to know is that I am the principal!"

So this was the notorious principal of U.A….

"And you are Midoriya Izuku, the boy with the courage to take on the challenge of being a Field Director before he's even made it into the Analysis program. Very brave, if it worked in your favor that is. Do you think it worked in your favor?" Izuku found it hard to look away from the principal's small, dark eyes. He found himself wanting to talk with this man who seemed so very intelligent. Izuku determined that Principal Nezu was a very dangerous person for him to be around…

Resisting the uncommon urge to speak, Izuku pulled out his pocket notebook and pen. _"Yes. I think it did." _It was not arrogance: it was honesty. Izuku had formed a very successful unit out of four "Heroes" who had never worked together and who he had never even met. If they would have been willing to listen, Izuku could have had a larger unit and still been successful. _"My unit was untried and yet they successfully terminated decidedly more than their share of the opposition. They also managed an impromptu rescue despite being frightened and inexperienced."_

Nezu seemed to smile in a way that set Izuku's hair on end. _Danger! _All of his senses told him to run, but he felt that would be extremely rude to the man that could greatly influence his high school career. "Well, I agree. You did very, very well for someone so young." Principal Nezu slipped from his chair and rounded his desk to reveal black dress pants and disproportionately large orange platform sneakers…

He made his was to the couch and chairs set around a polished wood coffee table. There was a tea set displayed with two cups set out and steaming tea in the pot. "Please sit so that we may continue this conversation more comfortably." Izuku fought the instinct telling him to flee and took the offered seat. "I must admit, I was skeptical when Aizawa told me he had added an option for your exam, but then I watched your… unit work perfectly together to eliminate a significant portion of our villain bots. Somehow, you managed to pick examinees with powerful, versatile Quirks and cooperative attitudes from the beginning of the exam and assess them thoroughly enough to direct them as a cohesive unit." Nezu sipped his tea, never taking his eyes off of Izuku who was too nervous to even touch his own cup.

"You, Mr. Midoriya, are quite incredible. Though, I do have a few observations that don't exactly fit with what your records file says." Izuku couldn't keep the reaction from forming on his face. "Midoriya Izuku, I do not believe you are Quirkless and I think your silence is a choice. Why? Well, call it animal instinct." Green eyes wide as saucers and skin pale with shock, Izuku tried his best to get himself under control. He shook his head quickly in an attempt to deny the accusations, but a sharp look from Nezu stopped him. "I do not care for lies, child." Izuku hung his head in shame, fear and disappointment. This marked the end of everything for him.

"So, now that you know that I know, let us have a real conversation and we can figure out where to go from there, yes?" Izuku understood that this was an ultimatum: talk or forfeit your chances of attending U.A. and possibly any Hero training high school with an Analysis program. He nodded his understanding and agreement, but Nezu wasn't having any of that. "Use the voice I know you have, Midoriya Izuku."

"Yes… sir, I understand." His voice was blessedly empty. He had successfully kept his emotions in check. Though, he could feel his power like a caged beast just waiting for the chance to escape. He also felt that familiar gnawing desire to just let it out…

"Very good, now, would you please explain to me why you choose to silence yourself and why your medical files claim you are mute when that is so obviously not the case?" Izuku sighed and had to wonder if having Nezu as a boss was part of the reason Mr. Aizawa was so tired all the time…

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Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Welcome! Big shout out to all my readers! It's been a minute, but I'm not dead yet!

I don't own any part of BnHA and I dont make money off of this story.

I also don't have a beta so you get my best efforts, but not much else! Read at your own risk...

Still no pairings.

Hope you enjoy~

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Chapter 6: Proper Motivation

Nezu had never met a child quite like Midoriya Izuku. When Toshinori had called in an excited panic over his random encounter with a boy who had seen through to his poor health, Nezu had quickly set to work on learning all there was to know about the kid. All Might's ailment was a dangerous thing to know about and this boy seemed to know way more than anyone who wasn't Toshinori's doctor or close confidant should. He had cross referenced any piece of information he could find about middle school boys with green hair and eyes and mutism. With all of his connections it was barely an hour before he had a hit with potential on a boy living in Musutafu with his mother. The report was simple enough: stellar grades, slightly below average athleticism and polite to a fault when it came to the teachers, but it seemed the boy was an outcast among his peers…

At first, Nezu assumed it was because the boy was mute. Communication was hard enough for adolescence that could speak the same language, but to try and navigate the social pool as a voiceless child would not grant any favors. Then he saw the reports the school nurse kept about one Izuku Midoriya's mental and physical health. The word 'Quirkless' was all he needed to read to fully understand the boy's social standing. After another half hour of digging into the life of the young teen, Nezu was distracted by an alert about a villain attack.

Apparently, a villain with a body made of a sludge-like substance had taken a young boy with a strong Quirk hostage and the responding Heroes were unsuited to the situation and too inexperienced (or inept) to improvise. It was the same villain Toshinori had apprehend when he'd met Izuku. Nezu was just about to make a call when he saw the hooded figure break from the crowd. The figure ran towards the danger even as the Pro Heroes and the crowd called out in dismay and when he stopped within reach of the glob with eyes and teeth everyone froze. The following moments left Nezu very curious and oddly excited about the figure who had, somehow, talked the sludge guy down. Then he'd caught a glimpse of green hair under the hood and a flash of green eyes that seemed to almost glow. The theories formed rapidly as Nezu watched the hooded figure leave before the Heroes could corner him.

No mater how impossible it might seem, the first instinctual conclusion is often correct… at least, that's what Nezu had come to understand. He glanced down at the picture of Midorya Izuke. Green eyes, dark green hair… it certainly wasn't much to go on. Then again, he had made career and life changing choices with significantly less to go on…

Was it possible that Izuku Midoriya had been hiding things for nearly his entire childhood? Yes, yes it was. Not speaking was a very good defense against letting your secrets slip after all… The real question was why? Why was Izuku keeping secrets…? He wouldn't know until he could find out what, exactly, those secrets were.

Nezu had scoured every record he could find on the Midoriya boy and then he had gone over them again. It was only on the third go around that he saw a small flaw in the earliest medical records… from the file recorded on the day he was diagnosed both Quirkless and mute. There was a small mark at the very bottom of the page that, from his knowledge of how the Midoriya Family's preferred clinic kept records, told him the page had been edited at least once. When he looked into it he was given the name of Izuku's primary care provider and a number to reach him by.

The rest was a bit of trial and error before Nezu discovered that Izuku's doctor had a huge soft spot for the boy and that his edited file was the only one the clinic did not have an original copy for. The nurse in charge of it had accidently shredded it after she had corrected the digital copy. When questioned, the nurse was embarrassed by the mistake she had made and also had an unusually strong liking towards Izuku. It was almost as if the two had been asked to change Izuku's file and forget it ever happened… kind of like how a villain would willingly give up the goose after a short exchange of words.

The clinic couldn't tell him anything beyond what he already knew for obvious reasons, but Nezu had enough to confirm his suspicions in his own mind at least. Izuku Midoriya was not quirkless… and possibly not even mute.

Then, just as his search began bearing fruit, Izuku Midoriya came to him! He had not expected to receive an analysis portfolio from the boy and he had certainly not been prepared for the overwhelming accuracy of the files within it. Most of the analyzed Heroes had been his students so he knew very well what they could do. Izuku had managed to perfectly summarize each Hero's abilities and unique style after simply watching them, which was normal for an analyst, but he had also collected details about the Heroes that most analysts overlooked. He had obviously watched interviews and paid attention to the roles each hero played outside of the spotlight as well as in it. His portfolio contained some of the most complete analysis files Nezu had ever read. They even included which partners and units each Hero would do well with not only based on the Quirks, but on their personalities and combat styles.

Then came the actual entrance tests. Usually, the written tests were all graded together by a team of teachers over a few days, but Nezu had decided to personally grade Izuku's over lunch. The results were… incredible. Izuku had scored well into the genius range even though the 'Personal' section was decidedly bare. It wasn't the highest score the school had ever seen, but it was the highest score of the year.

When Aizawa had come to him that morning and told him about his plan to add an option for the Analysis Practical Exam, Nezu had been a bit hesitant until Izuku's name was dropped. The boy had exceeded expectation at every turn when it came to matters of the mind. It was his ability to accurately read people, even without properly meeting them, that really impressed Nezu though. It was one thing to know facts and answer questions well, but emotional intelligence took time and attention to develop. Then he had done the one thing that confirmed Nezu's theory about the 'Hooded Boy' from the villain attack: he got his team out safe no matter the consequence. Nezu had quickly decided it was time for a meeting.

The boy was obviously brilliant with a knack for analysis and tactics, but he seemed to carry the weight of the world on his still small shoulders. His self-discipline was amazing for one so young and yet he had admitted to only just starting training months before the exam. The progress he had made in that short time spoke volumes about his potential however. Izuku was a diamond in the rough for an instructor like Nezu, but he was also an active mine field of issues and hang-ups.

The problem lay with the boy's fear of himself and his Quirk. He was holding himself back and Nezu suspected that Izuku had left out a few small details about what his Quirk could do. He had to give it to the boy though, with protecting others as motivation he seemed capable of incredible things… like staying silent for years as a child. It had been an eye opening conversation and Nezu had been forced to rethink his original plan of making the boy sweat because of his lies.

To be so afraid of a part of your self that you'd rather hide it from the world… Nezu could understand that; perhaps a little too well. Lies were not acceptable, but secrets might be allowed to stay that way for a bit longer. There would come a time that Izuku would have to speak up and be heard, but it wasn't Nezu's decision on when. All he could do was help the kid prepare for an uncertain future. Of course, that meant creating a completely unique curriculum to both challenge and motivate a student that learned and progressed rapidly. It also meant forcing the boy out of his comfort zone.

Nezu wanted to bring Izuku out of the fortress the green haired boy had erected around himself. There was so much the kid could accomplish if he would only become part of the world around him rather than cutting himself off from it. Izuku was powerful, but scared and that was a historically bad mix of traits. Hopefully, with guidance and training, Nezu could help him turn fear into understanding and, in time, control.

…

Izuku was… relived. For years he had struggled to restrain a Quirk that only kept growing and pushing at his barricades and all the while he couldn't tell anyone. He was fighting a loosing battle without even a witness to the struggle and, somehow, that made it all the more difficult; even though it did ease his guilt a bit. Then Nezu had forced his way into the fray and gave Izuku the hope that he hadn't felt since… well, since his Quirk became apparent. Hope that there was a way back to semi-normal even in this world of instability.

After the shaky start to their meeting, Nezu had pried the truth from Izuku and then accepted it with surprising grace. There was no accusation or outrage, but the Principal did seem to be caught a bit off guard about some things. He had seen through Izuku's disguise, but even the genius Hero hadn't been able to completely figure him out. That was both comforting and a bit sad if Izuku was being honest. Nezu had told him that he had assumed Izuku was hiding an intelligence Quirk behind his silence due to his test results. He then told Izuku that his obvious Quirk being voice reliant worked in their favor for any future plans of reviewing it.

The conversation ended with Izuku being given early admission to U.A. that would result in him taking an altered course specially designed for him. It also meant that he would no longer be attending his middle school and would instead begin training with Nezu and some of the other U.A. staff. By the time his peers began school he would have a handle on his Quirk. At least, that was the plan.

…

They began by testing Izuku's secondary Quirk.

"Originally, your secondary Quirk was like an extra protective layer. It made you harder to hurt, but not much else. Now, we will see if and how it has changed in recent years." Nezu stood behind a thick pane of shatter-proof glass that separated the testing room from the control room. Izuku stood in the testing room, in a borrowed gym uniform, and began relaxing the hold on his secondary Quirk. It felt to him like gravity was beginning to loosen it's hold on him; it felt like he could take flight!

He watched Nezu flip a couple switches just before a robotic voice filled the room. "Now beginning 'Fragility' test; phase 1." Several panels on the wall shifted to reveal what looked like small gun barrels mounted around the room. "Firing in 3…" Izuku knew what was coming, Nezu had made sure to tell him. "2…" still, it was impossible to relax while surrounded by weapons that not only could, but we're going to fire on you. "1…" and then several small projectiles were shot continuously at him, hitting different points on his body, for approximately thirty seconds. When the firing ceased Izuku was left standing in the center of the room, eyes squeezed shut and breath held, waiting for the barrage to begin. "Phase 1, complete."

Izuku's eyes snapped open and his breath left him in a surprised huff. He saw hundreds of small, hard rubber balls scattered around the room, but his shock prevented him from putting two and two together. "Well, Mr. Midoriya, I would say that your secondary Quirk has gotten stronger at the very least. We will not test how strong today, but it will have to be done soon. Now we test your athletic endurance rather than your defensive endurance. The floor beneath you will turn into a sort of treadmill now." Nezu spoke as if he were completely unsurprised by what he had just seen. Izuku was still processing when the floor did, in fact, become a giant treadmill.

"Izuku." Said boy looked up at his mentor, eyes wide and unfocused. "It is not so surprising that your Quirk has developed so much under your nose. If you were to think about it logically, you would find that there were many signs as you grew. You chose to ignore and deny the growth of both your Quirks in an attempt to escape your own fear and guilt." Nezu paused to let Izuku absorb the words completely and only continued once his student nodded his acceptance. "now, we will face both of your Quirks and any fear or guilt you feel for them. Prepare to run please."

"Okay…" Izuku's voice was small and quiet, but there was an undertone of determination.

They had found that Izuku could speak without fear if he was not speaking directly to someone. Barriers like the glass or speaking through a Com system nullified the effect of his Quirk on listening persons. Nezu had warned him that that might change eventually with how adaptive his Quirks seemed to be, but for now they would make use of it. The floor beneath his feet began moving and Izuku easily matched it's slow pace. Nezu increased the speed until Izuku was in a full sprint and then decreased it a bit and had Izuku run until his legs buckled under him.

The testing continued in a similar fashion over the next week alternating between strength, speed, durability and endurance exercises. Nezu made sure to keep track of any improvements as they went and Izuku put his unbreakable will to good use by pushing past his limits continuously. After the grueling physical testing, Nezu gave Izuku a small break before having him take several written tests to figure out where he was academically. It wasn't until the end of the week that Izuku really had trouble with any of the questions.

"It would seem, Izuku, that we have enough data to begin developing a program for you." Nezu announced as he looked over Izuku's most recent test. "I will not lie to you; there is no current program that suits you. No one else in this school will be doing the exact same things as you, but you will regularly work with the other students in various ways." Izuku nodded his understanding as Nezu looked at him over the test sheets. "I would like to ask you… to live on campus whilst you're being trained. I have many reasons for this request." Nezu watched Izuku's eyes widen in surprise.

"But…" his voice was carefully devoid of emotion. "what about my mom?" Nezu knew that would be Izuku's chief concern so he had prepared for it.

"Your mother will be given a pass to visit the school any time and you will be allowed to visit her as you please. This is not a prison, but I do have a good couple of reasons to ask that you stay here. We have time to discuss the arrangements before deciding anything though." He watched Izuku relax bit by bit as he spoke.

"I suppose staying here is a more logical decision for my training…" the progression of thoughts through the boy's mind was a fascinating thing to watch reflected on his face. Every new leap of logic have a parallel facial response that, while not revealing the actual thought, displayed obvious activity. "and for the safety of my mother and I." Ah, so he had figured it out. Now, without other students, there was little chance of someone leaking information. That would soon change though, and Izuku had too much potential to be left vulnerable. If the address they included in his file was that of the school, then it also served to protect his mother.

"Yes, that is part of it." Izuku once again nodded in understanding and stood to stretch.

"I see the benefits of that arrangement and I'll let my mother know tonight. If you can have the pass for her made this week I will begin moving in as soon as possible." This was one of Nezu's favorite things about Izuku: once he saw the logic in a plan or idea, he was quick to implement it.

"Very well. I already have the pass made, it just needs to be coded to your mother so that no one else can use it. If you would have her come with you tomorrow we can work everything out then." Nezu took a sip of his now lukewarm tea. "Otherwise, we are done for the day. Good work, I'll have an official academic and training schedule for you tomorrow."

Izuku bowed politely, deep enough to display a genuine and vast level of respect, before grabbing his jacket and exiting his teacher's office. Nezu hid an affectionate smile behind his cup as he watched the door softly close. Over the week of tests, he had seen the real Izuku Midoriya and he was not disappointed. Without the weight of a thousand pound secret he was a very refreshing young man. There relationship was still very formal, but it had the foundations for a more genuine connection in the future. He was sure that tomorrow would become yet another test on the path to earning his hesitant student's trust. Possibly the most important test… after all, a mother's approval was always hard won when the wellbeing of her child was involved.

…

Katsuki would never admit to the level of anxiety that came with waiting for those test results or to the utter relief he felt when they arrived in the form of an acceptance letter. Admitting to either of those things would be equivalent to telling someone that he had doubted, for even just a moment, that he would get in. Of course, the old hag and his dad had known, but they were smart enough not to talk about it. He figured De- Izuku would pick up on it when school resumed after their week long break. The green haired boy always knew things like that…

Katsuki wondered if Izuku had made it into the analysis program…

He figured he would find out on Monday.

When Monday rolled around Katsuki was unable to find Izuku before the start of classes though. It was not a big deal; the nerd had been late before. The problem lay with _how_ late. Katsuki was starting to get frustrated when the teacher strolled into the room and the green haired boy was still absent. "Good morning class! I trust you had a refreshing break?" an off tempo wave of affirmation echoed through the room. It was less than enthusiastic, but the teacher (who's name Katsuki had never bothered to remember) retained his cheerful demeanor. "Well, I have a happy announcement for you!"

"Many of you tested for the schools you hope to attend over the break and I have confirmation that every one of you who tested made it!" the rooms atmosphere shifted from sleepy and gloomy to excited and proud in moments. Katsuki realized that if every tester got into at least one school, that Izuku had made it too. "I would like to congratulate all of you, but I must give a special acknowledgment to Katsuki." The teacher smiled like he was the one who did the work… "He has been accepted into the U.A., one of the most prestigious schools for heroics in the country!"

There were sounds of awe and surprise at his accomplishment, and Bakugou preened a bit under the attention. "I look forward to watching him grow into a first rate Hero!" Katsuki turned to smirk at Deku, but found only an empty desk where the silent boy should have sat.

"Oi, teacher, where is De-," he had to correct himself, "Where is Izuku?" if possible, the teacher's grin became even larger.

"I'm glad you asked! Izuku was accepted to All three of the schools he applied for, including U.A., for early admission! I'm not sure which school he decided on, but he will no longer be joining us." Katsuki was angry, but he was also relieved and undeniably impressed. It took a lot to earn early acceptance to an average school and U.A. was far from average. He would just have to work doubly as hard to not be left behind.

"So, you're saying that this boy systematically herded the other examinees away from the Obstacle?" Izuku nodded an affirmation to Nezu's question. They were reviewing the recordings of the Hero exams as a way for Izuku to familiarize himself with the in-coming students he would be working with. The boy frozen on the screen had earned zero villain points and just a few rescue points. He had not quite qualified as a Hero student, but his test score was high enough to be considered for the General class. Izuku, however, felt differently about the situation.

A couple of clicks of the mouse saw the video rewound to the point where the Obstacle appeared. It was panicked chaos for most of the Hero hopefuls, but the purple haired Hitoshi Shinso was calm and calculative. He watched the giant bot and seemed to figure out its pattern before subtly cutting other examinees off and redirecting them towards the start point. Now that Izuku had pointed it out, Nezu couldn't un-see it. He restarted the same portion of the video, but focused on where each of the examinees that Shinso cut off would have gone if he hadn't stopped them. Most would have hit dead ends and possibly been trapped by the Obstacle…

"I see your point…" Nezu pulled his phone out and quickly dialed a number. "I need you to adjust the exam score for Hitoshi Shinso." A pause. "Yes, that's him. Now, add an additional 40 rescue point to his original score." Another, longer pause. "I am sure. Reviewing the recordings has brought new details to light. I believe Shinso is Hero material and I want to give him the opportunity to prove me right." Something else was said on the other end. "Yes, we will send an acceptance letter with a live messenger to explain this change. I do hope he is still willing to accept a position as a Hero student…"

The call ended and Izuku didn't even try to hide his satisfied smile. After all, he had always believed that true Heroes put the needs of others before their own and this boy seemed to fit the bill. Besides, it was obvious that the boy's Quirk wasn't geared towards being destructive or flashy, but he still had the will of a Hero… Izuku was curious to see what Shinso was really made of.

* * *

So, this elaborates a bit more on how Nezu figured Izuku out. Izuku wasn't as subtle as he thought. The bread crumbs were there for anyone to see if they had only paid attention .

If you are worried about Izuku being OP, fear not: he has more than a few flaws that will become apparent with time. Not to mention a possibly fatal drawback to his Quirk.

Thanks for reading!

WITS~


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